An Evangelical Christian Perspective

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Children

Every one of our children will be brought into the ark, if we pray and work earnestly for them. D.L. Moody

Unless we are firmly anchored in the Rock of Ages, unless we trust in the living God, unless we are vigilant in prayer and fellowship with God, the enemy will be able to vanquish our children. Michael Youssef

The worst attitude of all would be the professional attitude which regards children in the lump as a sort of raw material which we have to handle. C.S. Lewis

The happiest and holiest children in the world are the children whose fathers succeed in winning both their tender affection and their reverential and loving fear. And they are the children who will come to understand most easily the mystery of the fatherhood of God. John Piper

You may speak but a word to a child, and in that child there may be slumbering a noble heart which shall stir the Christian Church in years to come. Charles Spurgeon

Children are innocent and love justice, while most adults are wicked and prefer mercy. G.K. Chesterton

Don’t forget that the most effective form of child abuse is giving a child everything they want. Randy Alcorn

Children are very quick observers; very quick in seeing through some kinds of hypocrisy, very quick in finding out what you really think and feel, very quick in adopting all your ways and opinions. You will often discover that, as the father is, so is the son. J.C. Ryle

You can’t be too careful what you tell a child because you never know what he’ll take hold of and spend the rest of his life remembering you by. Frederick Buechner

As the flower in the garden stretches toward the light of the sun, so there is in the child a mysterious inclination toward the eternal light. Have you ever noticed this mysterious thing that when you tell the smallest child about God, [he or she] never asks with strangeness and wonder, “What or who is God – I have never seen Him,” but listens with shining face to the words as though they soft loving sounds from the land of home. Or when you teach a child to fold [his or her] little hands in prayer that [he or she] does this as though it were a matter of course, as though [it was] opening for [the child] that world of which [he or she] had been dreaming with longing and anticipation. Or tell them, these little ones, the stories of the Savior, show them the pictures with scenes and personages of the Bible – how their pure eyes shine, how their little hearts beat. R.C.H. Lenski

Obedience (for children) is part of the Maker’s instructions, and there is no guaranteed success without it; for obedience is a God-created way of ensuring that we learn the right habits of living in our early years. To use Paul’s word (from Ephesians 6:1), it is “right” in the sense of being natural for our human development. Michael Lawson

Beware of him who hates the laugh of a child. Henry Ward Beecher

The soul is healed by being with children. Fyodor Dostoevsky

Men are never manlier than when they are tender with their children – whether holding a baby in their arms, loving their grade-schooler, or hugging their teenager or adult children. R. Kent Hughes

Kids need to learn that the root issue is their sin, and they need to be taught the remedy for their sin. Chastisement is not for the benefit of frustrated parents. It’s supposed to be for the benefit of the child. And in order to get the full benefit, they need to understand that the real problem is their sin and that offends God. John MacArthur

Children have a heart problem. They are constitutionally sinful. Like their parents, and like the rest of the Adamic race, they are fallen. What they need most are regenerate hearts. This is the most fundamental issue in parenting. It’s not ultimately about behavior; it’s all about the child’s heart. John MacArthur

Honoring parents means to treat them with respect and esteem because of their position of authority. It is honoring them because of their role of authority. If a child is going to honor his parents, it will be the result of two things. 1) The parent must train him to do so. 2) The parent must be honorable in his conduct and demeanor. Tedd Tripp

God calls all children to be obedient and respectful. Obedience is the act; honor is the attitude. John MacArthur

What are the signs of disrespect to your parents and other adults? 1. Knowingly disobeying. 2. Making fun of them. 3. Not speaking when they greet you. 4. Making threatening statements, rude or hurtful remarks. 5. Yelling for them to come to you when it not an emergency. 6. Grumbling about decisions they make. 7. Being ungrateful for something they do for you or give you. 8. Complaining about what they have given you to eat. 9. Talking back. 10. Objecting, mocking, correcting, questioning, or giving unasked-for explanations are all signs of disrespect. 11. Speaking in an irreverent way or in anger. 12. Saying to your parents or an adult, “I’ll do it in a minute” or “just wait.” 13. Pushing for something after being told “no.” 14. Treating a discipline lightly. 15. Not listening when you are being spoken to. 16. Entering into a closed room of an adult without knocking or quietly asking. 17. Sighing, shrugging the shoulders, or giving a sour look when told to do something. Jim Elliff

We don’t think there’s something wrong with one-year-old children because they can’t walk perfectly. They fall down frequently, but we pick them up, love them, bandage them if necessary, and keep working with them. Surely our heavenly Father can do even more for us than we do for our children. Joyce Meyer

To train a boy in the way he should go you must go that way yourself. Billy Sunday

Don’t stop with telling your boy to do right. Show him how. Billy Sunday

Be careful, father, or while you are taking one lap around the devil’s track your boy will make six. Billy Sunday

You want to mess up the minds of your children? Here’s how – guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith. Sneak around and pretend your spirituality . Train your children to do the same. Embrace a long list of do’s and don’ts publicly but hypocritically practice them privately… yet never own up to the fact that its hypocrisy. Act one way but live another. And you can count on it – emotional and spiritual damage will occur. Chuck Swindoll